Pavement movie "Pavements" screens at Fox Theatre, Thursday

Pavements, Alex Ross Perry's epic meta-rockumentary about alt-rock stars Pavement screens at the Fox on Thursday at 6:30 pm. 

"Pavements" is a slightly bent rockumentary about the 90s alt-rock band Pavement from beautiful suburban Stockton, CA which combines documentary footage of the band shot over their career with fictionalized preparations for a biopic and also an off-Broadway musical based on songs from their back catalogue.

From quirky filmmaker/video director Alex Ross Perry – behind the movies you probably haven't seen “Listen Up Philip,” “Queen Of Earth,” “Golden Exits,” “Her Smell” – comes the epic meta-rockumentary "Pavements" that intercuts talking head commentary (from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Matador Records honcho Gerard Cosloy, etc) with rehearsal room clips of the real Stephen Malkmus, Spiral Stairs, Bob Nastanovich, Mark Ibold and Steve West trying to relearn their own songs for a Pavement reunion tour in 2022 with footage tracking a fictional off-Broadway musical inspired by the band's tunes called "Slanted! Enchanted!" simultaneously with a Hollywood-style biopic (starring Jason Schwartzman as Matador founder Chris Lombardi) along with the creation of a pop-up museum filled with Pavement's gig posters, print ads, song lyrics and merch. Stranger Things' Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) does a brilliant job in the role of an up-and-coming young method actor trying desperately to become S.M., affecting his look, clothes, mannerisms and speech patterns with entertaining results. It might sound like a confused two-hour mess but Perry actually pulls off the musical & biopic within a documentary concept with Fassbinder-esque apblomb – how's that for a poster-ready pull quote?  

 Screens at the Fox Theatre (2236 Queen St. East) on Thursday (May 22) at 6:30 pm. Get tickets right here. Watch the trailer below along with some videos, interviews and performance footage. Those interested can get a digital version of the 41-song Pavements film soundtrack  being released by Matador Records on May 30th right here.

R.I.P. Gary Young of Pavement, 1953-2023

Sadly, Gary Young – Pavement's first and best drummer – has passed away at his home in Stockton. He'll be greatly missed.

90s Nostalgia: Pavement shares video for 1999's "Harness Your Hopes"

Check out Alex Ross Perry's new clip for Pavement's TikTok hit "Harness Your Hopes" starring Sophie Thatcher of Yellowjackets. 

Happy Birthday James Carter!

Celebrating saxophonist James Carter's birthday with his inspired Pavement revisions.

The Verlaines, Flying Nun turn 30

Believe it or not, three decades have passed since Roger Shepherd started up New Zealand's fabulous Flying Nun label. Coincidentally, it was also in 1981 that Graeme Downes founded The Verlaines in Dunedin. With word now that Downes is putting the finishing touches on a new Verlaines album, it seems worthwhile to look back at the development of the Dunedin scene which spawned many of the amazing groups that helped launch Flying Nun globally, inspiring countless artists, from Pavement to Guided By Voices and Barbara Manning to the late Jay Reatard. Here are a couple of clips which document the South Island origins of New Zealand's influential musical exports The Clean, The Chills, The Bats and The Verlaines whose members are still musically active today.

Friends Of The Enemy



Getting Older by The Clean 1981



Flamethrower by The Chills 1982



Pyromaniac by The Verlaines 1984


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